The Adventure of a Lifetime
by LeonPianta
Summary: Four teenagers are on a bus, when all of the others seem to disappear. Then, everything goes crazy. What crazy events will happen in a new world? Who will they meet and will they be good? Or evil? T for mild death and gun reference.
1. A Normal Life

Note: I own these characters.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

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A Normal Life…

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Jerry woke up on Tuesday morning at 6:34 a.m. He groaned. He had his favorite class today, but his least favorite was also on Tuesday. He sighed, and climbed out of his bed. He got ready for high school by eating breakfast and getting dressed, for he had little time. His bus came that day on 6:59 a.m. He slowly walked into the middle, and sat next to his best friends: Corey, Yves, and Rodney 'Rho'.

Corey's short, black hair was gelled, and slightly messy above his head. He was wearing a black shirt with a picture of a paper saying, 'Does not do homework. Do not assign any,' and blue jeans. Yves wore a yellow-green, plain shirt and brown pants, and his sandy-blond hair was disheveled. Rho wore a blue shirt saying, "Greek" and blue jeans. His brown hair was straight and slightly strewn. Jerry wore a red shirt with a blue 'G' and stripe on it, with black pants. He wore a gray California cap.

"Okay, children. It's time to begin our trigonometry lesson. This is a right triangle I have drawn on the board. The hypotenuse…" Jerry's teacher blahed on. He started to fall asleep. Trigonometry was also known as Nap Class for Jerry. He looked at Hank, who sat next to him. Hank was the fourth of Jerry's friends. Hank stared bleakly into space.

School stretched on for 3 more hours, until it was finally lunchtime. Jerry and Rho sat next to each other. They smiled, as Greek was their next class. It was their favorite class. The Greek teacher was so fun and had mostly great lessons. Her room was decorated to look friendly. Rho and Jerry pulled out their sandwiches. "Hey, dudes. It's the best of the bunch!" Hank said as he sat next to Rho. Jerry couldn't see Corey or Yves.

After about 20 minutes of lunch, the principal came out into the lunch room. "I'm afraid that Greek class has been canceled for the next 4 weeks. Mrs. Kirk has gone on a vacation she has won in a sweepstakes. Students in that class will go into the Advanced Physics class instead," he announced. Jerry and Rho stared at each other with upset faces.

School finally ended that day, with Jerry and Rho in a daze. "Why are you two so dazed out?" asked Corey. "Advanced physics… was pure torture… it lasted for the rest of the day…" Jerry said, monotonously. "I miss… Greek… was fun…" Rho sadly moaned. Yves just stared at the two of them. He felt bad for them. "Thank god I don't have to be in Advanced Physics," said Yves. Rho frowned at him, and sat next to Corey. Jerry sat beside Yves.

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Author's Note: So, nothing happens yet. But isn't that the normal start of a story? Well, you're just going to have to see what happens later. Please review! BTW, the ways to pronounce the names are: Jerry- JER-ee, Corey- CORE-ee, Rho- ROW, Hank- HANK, and Yves- VEZ. PS, the part relating to the category comes later. I swear it does. BTW, I put a little joke within Rho. Remember he loves Greek? His nickname is Rho? If you understand, please tell me.


	2. Leaving Originality

Note: I own these characters.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

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Leaving Originality

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On Wednesday, Rho is sitting next to Yves. Hank is sitting with Jerry, and Corey is sitting by himself. A hot girl walked by him, and waved. "See, don't you love that my friendship with you can get you hot girlfriends?" Corey asked. Jerry smiled and stared at him, a _yeah, right _face. "What?" Corey said.

Jerry looked behind himself. There was only 1 person there. _That's freaky. There used to be 5 people back there, _he thought. He then looked ahead. He only saw 3 people… 2. One of the people seemed to disintegrate into thin air. He looked over at Hank. He seemed to notice. "Hey, Corey, Yves, what happened to all those people? They like, fizzed out," he asked. "I think maybe they are being abducted by aliens!" said Rho, jokingly. "Rho, not now. Be serious!" said Yves. After looking around a little more, Jerry realized that he, Rho, Yves, Hank, and Corey were the only people on the bus, but it was still operating. "Guys, this CAN'T be safe. I'm getting off," Hank said. As soon as Hank got off, the bus shrunk into an invisible size. Hank stood there, mouth widely agape.

Jerry was so scared. The bus was crazily shaking. Beyond the windows was a realm of green and blue, a blur in his eyes. Jerry felt super frightened and out of breath. He passed out. "Guys. Guys! Jerry's out cold!" Yves shouted. Rho tried to stand as the bus shook, and tipped ahead to the front. The door of the bus was open, and Rho fell out. "RHO!" shouted Corey, "Okay, NOW this is freaking the crap out of me!" Suddenly, the window above Jerry's seat opened. Jerry was pulled out, and Yves screamed. He screamed so loud, it made Corey jerk back. The back of the bus had a hole in it, which Corey fell into. Yves almost passed out. He had no other choice than to get out of the bus and find his friends. He ran and fell to the front, and dove out the door.

When Rho woke up, he looked around. He was on some sort of beach. _Where the heck am I?, _he thought. He stood up, and decided to walk the direction of the bus, to see if his friends were okay. He walked off of the beach and toward a huge castle. He saw the bus smashed into one of the walls. He half expected to see Jerry, Yves, and Corey dead inside the bus. But when he looked, it was empty. _Thank goodness, _thought Rho, _They're alive. Somewhere. I have to go find them! _He started to walk away when a hand lay on his shoulder. "Excuse me, sir. May I please ask who you are?" a voice said. Rho turned around, and saw a small, old man with a big, round, sphere shaped hat that was brown with white spots.

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Author's Note: So, Rho has been found by a certainly odd looking old man, what about Corey, Yves, and Jerry? Please review! PS, if you think about the category and short people with round, spotted heads, it now makes sense.


	3. Along the Beach

Note: I own these characters.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

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Along the Beach

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"I'm… Rodney. You can call me Rho. I was on this crazy bus, and then I fell out on a beach back there, and my friends were still on the bus. I was checking to make sure they weren't smashed in there," Rho said to the squat man. "I am Toadsworth, the princess's helper and one of her protectors," the man said. "Um… this may sound weird, but could you please tell me where I am?" asked Rho. "Why, of course! This is Toad Town, in Mushroom Kingdom!" Toadsworth replied. "What?! Mushroom Kingdom? As in, the place where Princess Peach and Mario and Luigi live?" asked Rho, wide-eyed. "Yes, of course. Have you heard of this place?" asked Toadsworth. "HEARD of it?! I have video games that are set in this place! I thought this was a work of some guy's imagination! I thought this was a place that was imaginary! Mario, and Peach, and Toad, are all imaginary!" Rho shouted, crazily. "Um, Mr., I believe we should go inside the castle and get you a spot of tea, eh? You might calm down," Toadsworth said, sort of worried.

Jerry woke up to a pain. He realized something was jabbing into his head. He slowly stood up, and saw it was a coconut. He had bumped into a tree, and the coconut fell on him, apparently. "Oh my gosh! I have to find Rho, and Corey, and, and Yves…" he said, still sort of weak. He walked off along the beach, hoping to find his friends. _Oh my gosh, _he thought, _Everyone must be so worried! My parents, because I'm not home yet. Hank saw the bus go crazy with me in it! And Rho, Corey, and Yves! They must be scared half to death! Unless they have actually… died… no, I have a feeling that they're still alive. I just KNOW they are! _He hoped to see something like the bus or one of his friends, but all he saw were trees, the ocean, and tons of sand.

Corey was about to scream at what he saw, but he clenched his teeth together. He saw his leg in a position that wasn't normal. He knew it had been broken when he fell out the hole in the bus. He'd heard a snap when his leg fell out, and immediately had gone unconscious. Now, blood from his leg turned the tan sands scarlet. He tried to stand, but he was aware that it was impossible. He shouted, "HELP! Please!" and started crying. The pain was unimaginably horrible.

Yves woke up and screamed a small scream. He saw a crab right in front of his face. Except, there was something more, animated about this crab. He didn't attack Yves, and he just quietly scuttled away. Yves stood up and brushed all of the sand off of himself. _What? I thought maybe that Corey, Jerry, Rho and I would end up in the same place, maybe even at school. I guess not._ Yves smiled subtly, and saw something huge in the distance. "Whoa! It's a castle!" he said to himself. He slowly started to walk toward it, and thought that maybe the others were there. He scratched his blond hair, and walked toward the castle.

After about 10 minutes, Yves heard a noise. It sounded like someone shouting, but he couldn't make it out. He walked closer to the noise. After a little bit, he heard, "Jerry! Rho! Yves! Help me!" and he started running. He knew it was Corey, and he must have been in trouble! As Yves got closer, he realized what it was. Blood surrounded Corey's leg, and Yves screamed. "Who is it?" moaned Corey. "It's me, Yves. Corey, what happened?" Yves asked, nervously. "Oh… when I went through that hole… oh, my leg!… I snapped my leg against the bus… ow!" Corey griped, obviously in great pain. "Don't worry. Everything is going to be alright. We just need to find Rho and Jerry, or find some sort of hospital," Yves said, trying to soothe Corey. Corey soon passed out.

Yves was so upset. He couldn't lose Corey like this! He had to save his friend! But, he had other friends, too. He looked out in the distance, trying to find the castle. But what he saw was equally pleasing. "Jerry! You're alive and okay!" Yves shouted, and jumped up, but Jerry had no response. He just stared at the sprawled body before him. "Is… he dead?" Jerry asked. "No, but we have to hurry to keep him in an alive state," said Yves, "I'll carry the legs, I can handle the grossness. You get the head, okay?" Jerry nodded, and said, "Do you know any nearby hospitals?" "Well, I know that there is a castle over there, past the trees. We should go there. Surely someone will help us," said Yves. "Oh my god, I REALLY hope Corey is fine!" shouted Jerry as the two walked off in the direction of the castle.

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Author's Note: Poor Corey. Do you think his leg should get better? Or will he be doomed to stay at the hospital for a long time? Find out, and please review.


	4. Castle Camaraderie

Note: I own these characters.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

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Castle Camaraderie

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Jerry became very sad when he looked into Corey's tortured face. It could have been him who broke his leg, but it wasn't. Jerry felt so immensely bad for him. He fought to hold back his tears. Yves noticed this, and tried to cheer Jerry up. "Corey will be just fine, Jerry. We just need to get him to that castle," he said, but Jerry's face didn't grow any brighter. Yves frowned also.

Princess Peach had been taking her daily walk along the trees when she saw two boys carrying a third. "Hello. Who are you?" she asked politely to them, staring at the unconscious boy. "Hi, I'm Yves. This is Jerry over there, and Corey right… here," a tan haired boy announced. "Hi," said the brown haired boy across from Yves, apparently Jerry. She stared at the gelled black hair, then the blue shirt of the unconscious boy, Corey. "I'm Peach. I own that castle over there. Say, what happened to… Corey, was it? Is he okay?" Peach asked. "Um, no. You see, I'll tell you the story on our way to your castle. This guy really needs medical help," said Yves. "So, we were on a bus to school…"

"… and then, we had to carry Corey over here. So, that's really what happened," Yves finished. He didn't realize he'd left Rho out of the story. "Wow. That's horrible. In some ways," Peach said as she unlocked the castle doors. "Well, I guess I have four guests today," Peach said, sort of happily. "FOUR?" asked Jerry and Yves together. "Yes, this boy came here earlier. He had dark brown hair, and he was frustrated. He said this place had been in some video game," Peach said. "Wait wait wait… you look awfully familiar. I think I know you from some… game… Princess Peach Toadstool?" Jerry said, questionably. "Well, that's who I am," Peach said, sort of confused. "I'll explain inside. I'd like to 'meet' this first guest of yours," said Yves, skeptically.

Peach went to her secret room, and quietly closed the camouflaged door. She was the only person who knew it existed. She went along a foyer, and ended up in a pink room. She smiled, and opened the nearby cabinet. She pulled out her diary, and entered: _November 21, 2007: I met four teenage boys today. They say they came to the Mushroom Kingdom on a bus, through a wormhole… _She wrote on and on about their whole story in there exact words. She wrote about and drew pictures of each boy exactly how they were that day. She made two pictures of Corey: one that looked the way he did, and one that looked like he would be if he was awake and his leg wasn't broken. She put these pictures and her diary in her special drawer, the one with a combination lock. She smiled, and secretly left her special room.

Rho walked out of the tea room. Toadsworth suggested he go find an unoccupied room to sleep in, and Peach said she had a surprise. He had no idea what it was, but he was ready for it. What he saw was pure joy in his eyes. "Jerry! Yves! Corey! Corey?" he shouted, and noticed Corey was unconscious, and his leg was very bloody. "He broke his leg when he fell out of the bus. He passed out half an hour ago," Yves said. Rho was upset, and tried to hold in tears. "Will he be okay?" asked Rho. "I really, REALLY hope so," Jerry said. Rho jerked his head toward Jerry, who was bending over Corey, with an upset face that really worried him.

"So, that's why this poor young gentleman is injured?" asked an elderly Toad (not Toadsworth) that worked the castle clinic. "Yes, it seems crazy, but it's true," replied Yves. "Well well, truth is stranger than fiction," the Toad (I'm just going to name him Toadsky) said. "So, will he be okay?" asked Jerry, trying to get to the point. "Ah, I can't tell. If he will be, his leg will probably be in bad condition for a long time," Toadsky said. "Oh, man. How are we supposed to get back to Los Angeles if Corey's leg is broken?" Yves said, distressed. "You live in Los Angeles?" asked Toadsky, "Where's that?" "It's in California, in the United States!" Yves said. "You mean in the real world?" Toadsky asked, interested. "Yes! It's in the freaking real world!" Yves shouted, his stress boiling over. "Well, we have two members of the Mushroom Kingdom who used to live in the real world, Mario…" Toadsky said. "Yeah. Mario and Luigi, the Mario Brothers," Jerry said quietly.

"Well, would you two like to meet them?" asked Toadsky, as he scratched his mustache. "Would we ever! But, we can't leave knowing Corey would miss out!" Yves said. "Yves, you go. I can stay by Corey. I thought to bring my cell phone, as did you, so I'll call you if something happens, okay? I'll meet the Marios later," Jerry said slowly. "Okay. I'll get Peach and Toadsworth to show me," Yves responded, slowly leaving the room.

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Author's Note: Finally, Rho meets back up with the others. Yves really needs to eliminate some of that stress. Maybe the Marios are just the thing. Please read on and review!


	5. Four Become Three

Note: I own these characters.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

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Four Become Three…

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"Um, Toadsworth? Could you please take me to the Mario Brothers' house?" said Yves, "I'd really like to meet them." "Mario Brothers' house! Toadsworth, we can take him!" Peach said from upstairs. She ran down the stairs, and the three left the castle. "Jerry said he would help Toadsky take care of Corey, and he said I should go meet the Marios. I wanted to stay, but I knew I would relax a bit if I could visit them," Yves said to Peach. "Well, the Marios haven't had to visit anyone or save me for a few months, so it would be nice to see them," Peach said, smiling. Toadsworth walked behind them a few feet, as not to be rude.

"This place is the west entrance to Toad Town. It comes from Goomba Village, about half a mile down that path. This pipe right in front of us leads to the Marios' front yard. Would you like to take it first, or should I?" Peach explained. "Uh, you can, I guess," Yves answered. Peach entered the warp pipe, followed by Yves and then Toadsworth.

When the three of them arrived, Toadsworth mentioned something. "Um, I found this piece of paper. This may be of importance," said Toadsworth. Yves looked at the paper. It said, 'List of People to Get: The Marios, Princess Peach, anyone who tries to save Peach.' "Oh my! This must be Bowser's list! He's the only one who'd want to get rid of the Marios and fall in love with me," said Peach, "Hey. There's something written on the back! What's it say?" Yves turned the paper over and gasped. "It… it… it can't be!" he said. On the back, the paper said, 'Also get the four new boys: I think their names are Jerry, Ro, Cory, and Vez.' "It's got your names on it, too! And they aren't even spelled right!" said Peach, appalled. "I need to call Jerry about this," Yves said, pulling out his phone. He dialed Jerry's number and put the cell phone to his ear.

"Hello?" said Jerry. "Jerry! It's me, Yves! You'll never guess what I found!" Yves said. "Surprise me," Jerry said. "You know who Bowser is, right?" Yves said. "Yeah, I do," Jerry said, "Why?" "Because, I found a list of the people he wants to capture, and the four of us are on it!" Yves said, worried. "What? You mean King Koopa, Bowser, wants to capture us?" Jerry responded. "Yes! It's insane, but we have to make sure we're safe from him!" Yves said. "Ah!" shouted Jerry. "I know, it's so scary!" shouted Yves. "No! It's Corey! His heart monitor is going out! He's losing a lot of his blood! Come here NOW!" Jerry shouted, and hung up. "Peach, Toadsworth, we have to get back to the castle now!" Yves said, and dove into the pipe. Peach shrugged, and followed, as did Toadsworth.

Yves ran his heart out to help save Corey. He was one of his best friends, and he wasn't ready for him to die. He burst through the castle door and then the clinic door, frightening many Toads. "Corey!" he shouted, inside the hospital room. The heart monitor was barely moving. Yves went down on his knees, his head against the bed Corey was lying on, and Yves burst out crying. The clinic door opened, and Peach and Toadsworth went inside. "Is Corey… oh," Peach said, seeing the near-straight monitor and Yves crying.

The next few minutes were very tensional. Peach, Toadsky, Toadsworth, Yves, Jerry, and Rho stood silently over Corey's bed. "He's…" said Jerry. "No. He can't be. No!" shouted Rho. He ran over, yanked the door open, and ran out. "Rho. Rho!" shouted Peach, and jogged out after him. She pulled the door closed. Toadsworth watched. "Oh, my," he said. The others just kept staring at Corey.

Rho ran out the door, pushing a red dressed and a green dressed man out of the way, running toward a hill. "Who was that?" said the red man. Peach ran after Rho. "Mario! Luigi! What are you doing here?" asked Peach. "Well, we saw you, Toadsworth, and a third person in our yard, when the three of you jumped back in the pipe. What happened?" asked Luigi. "Well, I'll tell you the whole story while we go get him," Peach responded, and the three started walking to the hill (which just so happened to be Shooting Star Summit).

"Rho got stressed and ran out, and I chased after him. He apparently bumped you two on the way here. Now where might he hide?" Peach finished. "Well, I know one place where there used to be a Star Piece that is hidden. Everywhere else is easy to find. We should go there," Mario said, and showed Peach and Luigi the way.

Rho sat behind a crystal formation, silently. He heard footsteps, and saw Peach and the two men he'd pushed earlier. "Hi," he said weakly. "Rho, I know this is really hard for you. Mario and Luigi definitely understand. And they know you were angry and forgive you for pushing them. But you have to understand that there's nothing you can do. Anger won't make Corey any better. You just have to face it," Peach said, contently. "But, I… it just hurts so much," Rho replied. "I know it's hard to lose a friend. But, you've got Jerry, Yves… me, Toadsworth, and all of your other friends back in L.A." said Peach. Rho sighed, and lay down on the ground. "Oh, man," said Mario, and he rubbed his temples.

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Author's Note: Corey is apparently gone. How stressing this must be for everyone. Everyone's stress is so different, even though it is so similar. How paradoxical. How must everyone back in L.A. - who know the four- feel about their absence? It's definitely not a coincidence. What really caused the bus craze? Please review!


	6. Fix of Heart

Note: I own these characters.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

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Fix of Heart

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The door to the clinic opened slowly. Peach, Mario, and Luigi entered. They stared at the door, and slowly, Rho walked in. He was ready for the worst. But Corey didn't look any different. Same sandy clothes. Same bleeding leg. Same unconscious and unhappy face. The heart monitor, though, THAT was different. Rho noticed it was blank. "Is he…" he asked.

"Well, I can't tell. You see, earlier, the monitor was broken and stayed straight, and we assumed Corey was dead. But, I realized it was broken and now I'm fixing it, hoping he's fine," Toadsky replied, hopingly.

After long tension, Toadsky stood up. "Well well, I've finally fixed it. Now, I'm going to turn it on. Try to stay calm, no matter what it shows, yes?" he said. He reached out, and flipped on the power switch. The green bar lit up, and started moving.

"He's alive!" shouted Yves, "He's alive!"

"Yves, I hate to break it to you, but this motion only represents 'slightly alive', eh? So that means at any moment he could get worse," Toadsworth said, speaking for the first time. The red oval of blood around Corey's leg slowly got bigger, as it had done before. "Well, I guess the only way to stop the blood loss would be to bandage his leg, no? I think it's a capital idea!" said Toadsworth.

"A little more… eh eh… and there we go! His leg is fully bandaged," Toadsky remarked. Jerry's face relaxed, and Yves laid his head back against the wall. Slowly and steadily, the heart monitor line rose. Rho smiled, and Yves just watched in wonder at the monitor.

"I think he'll be just fine," said Jerry, finally at ease in heart.

He opened his eyes. "Oh…" he said. He looked at the heart monitor. It was moving healthily. He smiled and looked around. He saw Toadsworth, Toadsky, Mario, Luigi, Jerry and Yves, all standing around him. Peach and Rho were sitting and playing chess.

"Hey, Peach! Rho! He's awake! Come look!" Jerry said, happily. Peach and Rho jumped out of their chairs and dashed over to the hospital table. "Corey's awake again!" Jerry said, really cheerily.

"Oh… hi," Corey said in a moaning voice. It hardly sounded like him. Everyone in the clinic just smiled.

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Corey was wheeling (in a wheelchair) beside Peach, Rho, Jerry, and Yves, who were taking a walk through Peach's land.

"Hey guys, I know a really beautiful spot on the beach that will make you forget your trouble as long as you're there. Follow me!" Peach said, and walked through some trees. But when they made it to the beach, Peach gasped. She saw a huge, red oval of sand next to the ocean. "Oh my gosh, what happened here?" she asked, nervously.

"Oh. I remember now. This is the place Corey was when I found him. He must have landed right there," said Yves, "Gee, THANKS for bringing me here, princess!" Yves ran off, back toward the castle.

"Oh, man! Does each of you have to storm off somewhere?" Peach asked rhetorically, and chased after Yves.

"Yves. Yves! Come down from that tree. I can't climb trees!" said Peach.

"Good, then I chose the perfect place to stay from _you. _You always seem to be there when I get upset, and you never are when I get better. You are my angel of sorrow!" shouted Yves from the tall maple (for those who don't know, that's a tree). Peach sighed, and rubbed her temples. This was a _very_ stressing day. Rho ran out from behind the trees, an Jerry came soon after. Corey slowly wheeled in.

"Yves, please get down from there," said Jerry in a half-begging voice. "Fine, I'll come down. I'll just fall out," Yves replied. He let go of the branch he was holding (it was kind of high up) and fell right down onto Corey…

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Author's Note: What will happen to Corey and Yves? Will either pass out? Will one of them die (even though that has, like, a .3 chance of happening)? Will Corey lose another ability? Will Yves become 2nd to lose too much blood? Why am I asking YOU all of these questions? Will Peach, Rho, and Jerry run away? Will you please review? Oh, about the note. See, I actually only don't own Peach, Toadsworth, Mario, and Luigi. Everyone else I own. I originally had only characters I owned, and I copy the whole title block and paste it for the next chapter. So I never changed that. I will change it from here on out.


	7. It's Set

Note: I own some of these characters, not all.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

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It's Set

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Peach screamed as Yves made contact with Corey. The seat of the wheelchair ripped, and Corey and Yves fell through. Their bodies pushed against the wheels, popping them off. One flew up and hit Rho in the chest. Rho fell back into a tree. Peach screamed again, causing Jerry to jerk his head in her direction. He popped his neck, and fell over in pain. Yves' legs and arms smashed into the rocks, and his head hit Corey in the stomach. Hard. Corey coughed up some puke and passed out. Peach screamed a third time and fainted. (BTW, Peach's screams sound just like Trixie Tang from _The Fairly Odd Parents._)

"Hum, I wonder why Peach and the other four were screaming," said Toadsworth, "I guess I'll just check myself." He opened the castle door and started shaking at what he saw. One boy, who Toadsworth thought was Yves, was lying unconscious on top of Corey (who was also unconscious). Those two were lying on the ground on top of broken wheelchair parts. Another boy (_I think that's Rho_) was lying (guess what? Unconscious!…) against a tree with a wheelchair wheel at his chest. Jerry was lying beside Rho, with his head twisted at a 90° angle to what it should have been. And Peach had apparently fainted. He went inside to the clinic. "Toadsky, we have a big problem," he said, and lead Toadsky to the ruckus.

Peach opened her eyes to see Toadsworth, Toadsky, and a few wheelchair parts. "Toadsworth! Where are they?" she asked as Toadsworth approached her.

"Good! You're just fine. Toadsky and I just came to take you five to the clinic, but apparently you are good enough to stay out, eh? Capital!" he replied, and walked back to the castle. He went back to pick up some wheelchair parts and headed onward.

"Toadsworth, wait!" Peach said, running after him, "Is everyone okay?"

"Well, since Corey has had previous major wounds, I hooked him up to the monitor. Toadsky has gone inside to find three more monitors, eh? Well, we must go back to the clinic," Toadsworth replied.

Peach sighed, and said, "I'm going to go for a walk to ease my nerves. Trust me, I really need it." Toadsworth accepted, and entered the castle.

"Oh my god, my neck is sore," said Jerry, waking up. "Hey- what? I'm in the clinic!"

"Ah, Jerry. You appear in good shape. Is anything wrong?" Toadsky asked.

"No, my neck hurt earlier, but I feel good now. Where are the others?" Jerry responded.

"Peach is fine and she's out on a walk. She should be back in a few minutes. Corey, Rho, and Yves are in those three beds over there," Toadsky said, cheerily. Jerry sat up and looked toward the others. Corey's and Yves' monitors weren't moving very well. Rho's was mostly normal, but kind of slow.

"Rho should be okay. I think he's broken a rib, though. Yves has a broken wrist. Corey, I'm not sure. Having Yves fall on him and break through the wheelchair has a way of kicking him while he's down, eh? I'm worried about him yet again. He has broken 4 ribs, actually, and his leg has started bleeding again. I replaced his bandage; hopefully that will help," Toadsky mentioned. Jerry winced.

Rho woke up with chest pain. "Ow, what happened?" he asked.

"Well Rho, I'm afraid you've broken a rib. It's not too bad. You're lucky the wheel had rubber wrapped around it or it could have killed you," Toadsky said.

"Will I need any sort of support or something?" Rho asked nervously. "Oh, no. You will be just fine without something to help," said Toadsky pleasantly. Rho breathed a sigh of relief, and lay down. Jerry smiled.

"Ow! My freaking wrist hurts!" Yves shouted when he woke up, "Oh my god… _everywhere _hurts!"

"My, my. Yves, I understand you are in great pain. As Peach told me, your hands and feet banged into some rocks, and your body smashed Corey and his wheelchair," Toadsky stated.

"Oh, man. Did I break anything?" Yves asked.

"Actually, your wrist is broken," Toadsky replied.

"Gah…" Yves said, and went back to sleep.

After quite a while, Rho and Yves had woken again. "Great. Now everything is just about like it was earlier. Except worse. Corey is in worse condition, and so are Yves and I. This is so bad," said Rho to nobody in particular.

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"This is perfect," a dark figure says from a dark, underground castle, "I finally am ready. And since those four are in a tough position, getting them will be a snap. Heck, it'll be half of a snap! MwohahahahahaHA!" The dark figure stepped out of the dark, into the glow of poisonous, green lava. Bowser's figure appeared. He was grinning a huge, evil smile.

"Hey, everyone, I'm back! Are you guys okay? Oh… not again!" said Peach, "Corey's really bad again, isn't he?"

"Yeah. Yves also broke his wrist, and Rho broke a rib. Corey's a lot worse off, though. You said Yves' head smashed into his stomach? Ew," said Jerry, monotonously.

"I'll be right back. I think I dropped my bag in front of the castle," Peach said, and exited the clinic.

Jerry sat down in his seat, and suddenly flinched. He heard a loud scream. "Someone's in trouble!" he shouted, and ran outside. He looked up, and saw Peach, captured and gagged by Bowser. Toadsworth came out of the door.

"Peach!" he shouted.

"Excellent! I can capture two more for my own needs! Mwohaha!" Bowser shouted. He launched a tarp down at Jerry and Toadsworth. Jerry stood still in shock.

"No!" shouted Toadsworth. He pushed Jerry out of the way at the last moment. Jerry watched in horror as Bowser lifted Toadsworth in the clear tarp and flew away with two prisoners.

"Yves! Rho! Toadsky! Help! Bowser just kidnapped Peach and Toadsworth!" Jerry shouted, running into the clinic.

"Good gravy! We have to go save him! Well, I guess the Marios can, actually," said Toadsky.

Jerry walked over to the window. He looked out, and saw the Marios chasing after Bowser. "I have to go help them!" Jerry shouted, and exited the clinic again.

He ran after Mario and Luigi just in time to see it. Bowser pulled out a grappling hook, and hooked it to Mario's and Luigi's overalls. He pulled them up and zoomed away. Rho ran up to Jerry.

"Oh my gosh, we have to go save the four of them!" Rho shouted.

"But what about Corey? I know Bowser will probably just lock up Mario and Luigi. But Corey is on the verge of death! We can't just leave!" Jerry shouted, "Oh, I can't choose between my four new friends or one injured friend! Ugh!" Jerry sat down and curled up in a ball. "This is so bad," he said over and over, rocking.

Rho had gone inside, but he came back out. "Okay. Jerry?" he said. "Yeah," said Jerry.

"I talked about it with Yves and Toadsky. They said that they can take care of Corey. AND that we should go save Peach and the others, okay?" Rho said, calmly. Jerry kept rocking. "Jerry," said Rho. Jerry didn't do anything. Rho waited for his answer.

"Okay," Jerry finally said, quietly.

--

Author's Note: Finally, Bowser sets his plan in motion. Now it's just Rho and Jerry in a competition against time. Four lives are at risk. Two new heroes are about to find out what they can really do. Please review!


	8. The New Beginning

Note: I own some of these characters, not all.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

--

The New Beginning

--

Yves attempted to stand straight next to Corey's bed, in front of Toadsky. He had been here for 3 hours, while Jerry and Rho were going on some adventure. _Great, he thought. Jerry and Rho get to go on a great adventure and I get to stay in the clinic, losing many bodily fluids, over my nearly dead friend. Oh, well. At least I'm being loyal. Jerry and Rho don't have that. Oh wait. They're being loyal to Peach, Toadsworth, and the Marios. I'm being loyal to one person. They have four. God._

_--_

"Hey, Jerry?" said Rho.

"Yeah?" Jerry said.

"What's that?" asked Rho, pointing at a short, brown, round triangle thing.

"Um. Let me check this species checker Toadsky gave me," said Jerry. He pulled this handheld machine from his pocket, and pointed it at the brown thing.

"SCANNING… SCANNING… SCAN COMPLETE," the machine said.

"Read it!" Rho said.

"It says, 'Goomba: HP 2, ATK 1, DEF 0. Goombas are the most common enemy in the Mushroom Kingdom and any that looks like the picture is dangerous. Any that doesn't will either be nice or talk to you and then battle." Jerry read from the screen.

"I knew it! I thought it looked kinda familiar," Rho said.

"So what do we do with it?" Jerry asked.

"We should attack it. I heard we get Star Points for that," Rho said. "Okay, I hope you're right," Jerry said, and ran up to the Goomba.

-A battle scene begins, like those in the Paper Mario games (the regular and TTYD, not Super). The top has: Jerry- HP 30. Rho- HP 30. Star Points- 0. FP- 10. Coins- 100. Star Power- 0. Goomba- HP 2. Rho is standing at the far left of the stage, with Jerry right to the right of him. The Goomba is on the far right.-

"What are we supposed to do, Rho?" Jerry shouted.

"Um, I don't know. I think we are supposed to battle it, like in Paper Mario," Rho replied.

Jerry shrugged, and jumped on the Goomba. Goomba's HP went from 2 to 0. It spun and disappeared. 5 stars in bubbles popped out. Jerry stared with big, questioning eyes, while Rho slowly walked over and picked them up.

You got 5 Star Points!

"What the heck was that?" Jerry said.

Don't ask! Just smile and wave!

"Um, why not? Where is the sign that says the thing?" Rho said.

Only _they_ can see it!

"Right. Can we leave the battle now?" Jerry said, slightly irritated by the unknown thing communicating with them.

But, you have to do the smile and wave thing to _them_!

"Oh my good god," Jerry said. He turned to _them_, and waved along with Rho. The place turned black, and the original field showed up. The Goomba spun and disappeared (again). 6 coins and a pearl popped out.

Jerry picked up the coins, and the count went to 106. Rho, on the other hand, walked slowly to the pearl.

"What's this?" he said, to himself. He inched towards it, and he bent down. As soon as his fingers made contact with it, a bright flash of light shot into the world.

Jerry woke up in a dark, dingy room. "What the heck? Where am I?" he said. Rho was up against the wall. "Rho! What are you doing?" Jerry said.

"SHHHH! I'm listening to the guards talk!" Rho whispered. Jerry shrugged and waited.

It seemed like an hour passed before Rho pulled his head back. "I know where we are," he said.

"Okay, tell me," Jerry said, calmly.

"Just be sure you stay cool," Rho said.

"Right. Now tell me," Jerry said, a little more stern.

"And don't lose your head," Rho said.

"Okay, fine," Jerry said, irritated. "Just tell me!"

"Be sure to keep your cool," Rho said.

"Alright! Alright! I'll be calm! Just tell me already!" Jerry whispered in an angry voice.

"We're… in Bowser's Castle," Rho said, darkly. Jerry retaliated in melancholy big words that mean he stepped back in fear.

"Oh my god," Jerry said. "How do we get out of here?" Suddenly, a white flash shone, and Rho and Jerry…

--

Author's Note: What happened to Jerry and Rho? Will they ever get out of Bowser's Castle? How are Yves and Corey doing? Where are Peach, Mario, Luigi, and Toadsworth? Why am I asking YOU all these questions?


	9. They're Back!

Note: I own some of these characters, not all.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

--

They're Back!

--

Peach walked around in a secret, dark room. "Mario, where are we?" she said, slightly nervously.

Mario sighed. "I really don't know."

Luigi walked over to Peach and Mario. "I bet this place is somewhere in Bowser's Castle. Would Bowser put us anywhere else?"

"I guess not. Oh my god," Peach said, and suddenly, a white light shone…

Jerry and Rho looked around. "I don't think we're in Bowser's Castle anymore," Rho said.

"I bet we aren't. I bet that that flash or whatever let us out OH MY GOSH!" Jerry said.

"What's wrong?" Rho said. Jerry just pointed behind Rho. Rho slowly turned around. "Peach! Toadsworth! Luigi! Mario!" Rho shouted. He and Jerry ran over to the four.

"There was this flash, and we left Bowser's Castle. We ended up here," Luigi said.

"Yeah, us too," said Jerry. "Do you think that Bowser found out yet?"

"No, but he probably will soon. We should head back to my castle," Peach said. Everyone agreed.

"So what was that flash that let all of us out of Bowser's Castle?" Rho said.

"I've seen this before," Luigi said.

"Huh?" Jerry asked, concerned.

"It was a while ago. Back when Mario was saving Peach from Bowser and the Koopalings, when I had to stay at home…" Luigi began, nostalgic.

"So, what exactly did happen?" Mario said.

"I was walking along the woods by our house, you know? When suddenly, a saw a flash exactly like the one that brought us back. It was growing a few feet, then shrinking again and again. I just tried to walk past it, but it pulled me in. Soon, I appeared in a whole different part of the Mushroom Kingdom. I was on Yoshi's Island! But, I saw the flash again, raced into it, and appeared back in the woods. I immediately ran home," Luigi explained.

"Whoa. So that's pretty much a warp zone?" Mario said.

"No. It felt different than a warp zone. I went back to it the next day, and I tripped in again. It didn't take me to Yoshi's Island; I went to Bowser's Castle. I immediately warped back," Luigi explained some more.

"Whoa, that's creepy," Jerry said.

"Maybe we should go inside the castle now," Rho said, being the only one to notice that they had arrived at Peach's Castle.

"Oh," said Peach. She opened the door for the others.

"Peach! Mario! Jerry!" Yves shouted when he saw them. "How did you get back so fast?"

"This warping thing sent us back," Luigi said. Brief and blunt.

"Corey's doing a lot better now. It's nice you all could arrive, eh?" Toadsky said.

"Corey! Where is Corey, anyway?" Peach asked.

"Corey!" Toadsky shouted. And in, on his feet and much better, walked Corey!

"Corey! You're okay!" Rho and Jerry ran over to him.

Corey just smiled. "Yeah. It's great to see you guys. Again," he said.

"Mario, isn't this great?" Luigi said. But Mario had his attention on something else in the room. Luigi looked toward it. "Oh my…" he mumbled. That caused everyone else to look.

"Oh my god! It's… it's…" Peach said.

--

Author's Note: Oooooh! Don't you just love cliffhangers? What could the thing they see possibly be? Hint: It's something from an earlier chapter!


	10. Reality Comes Back

Note: I own some of these characters, not all.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

--

Reality Comes Back to Bite You In the Butt

--

"It… I can't believe it!" Corey said.

"That looks just like…" Jerry began.

"Luigi's strange warp hole!" Peach said. Mario was speechless. Toadsky and Toadsworth just had their mouths hanging wide open.

"We should see where it goes," Rho said.

"I know. We'll all go in, but Toadsky. He can stay and help us if we need it," Toadsworth opened up for the first time. So, without hesitation (okay, with LITTLE hesitation), Jerry walked in, followed by Luigi, Rho, Yves, Corey, Peach, Mario, and Toadsworth.

"What's going… OH MY GOSH!" a Toad opened the door and exclaimed. He slammed the door shut and ran out.

This place was very realistic. And not to mention familiar. And suddenly, a switch in Yves' brain flipped.

"We're in… Los Angeles again," Yves said. Everyone stared at him, awestruck.

"This is where we live," Corey said, in a kind of unusual voice.

Back at the clinic in the castle, Toadsky was napping. The past few days had been very tiring. The door slowly opened, and in tip-toed another human being. He stepped slowly and jumped into the warp hole.

Peach, Mario, Luigi, and Toadsworth were getting many stares, especially by those who seemed video-game crazy. "Did I ever tell you that you're stars of this series of video games?" Yves said.

"I think it's been mentioned," Peach said. _Yeah, right, Mr. Crazy,_ she thought.

"Oh Princess Peach," a cheery voice said behind the group.

Peach turned around, and said, "Craig! It's you!" Peach ran over and she and Craig hugged.

"Nice to see your… friend, Peach. But who is this guy?" Yves said.

"This is Craig Dison. He was one of my best friends in high school!" Peach said, quickly and excited.

"Yup, I remember Craig. How are you doing, buddy?" Mario said, in a nostalgic voice.

"I'm great. I just walked into this warp hole by accident," Craig smiled. "It looks like the same happened to you?"

"No, actually. There was a warp hole in our castle. We wanted to see where it took us," Peach said, matter-of-factly.

"I see. But, anyway, wow. I still can't believe you, Mario, Luigi, Toadsworth, and me and…" Craig began. Peach introduced Corey, Rho, Jerry, and Yves. "those guys. Anyway, nice to meet you four," Craig shook their hands.

"Well, we're back in Los Angeles. What do we do now?" Jerry asked.

"I think we should… go to a store!" Rho said, a big grin painted across his face.

"What kind of store are we gonna go to?" Peach asked. She turned around, and saw Rho pointing to a huge electronics store.

"That one," he said, and they all raced inside. Rho hadn't been in an electronics store in, well, forever.

The group passed by many sections: TVs, DVDs, CDs, video games, electric guitars. "Okay. What's with the guitars?" Craig asked.

"Those are electric guitars. Go figure. They have EVERYTHING in this store that has 'electro' in it," Yves pointed out.

"Hey, where's Peach?" Mario said.

'I don't know! Luigi, Mario, you go that way! Craig, Corey, you two go there. Yves, Toadsworth, check the DVDs. Rho and I'll go… that way," Jerry said, pointing in multiple directions. Everyone set out.

It didn't take too long for Rho and Jerry to find her. "Peach! What are you doing… here?" Rho asked. Peach was in front of a video game case, staring at it with a distraught and hurt face.

She pointed at a DS game. "That's…" she began. She couldn't say anything else. Rho and Jerry looked where she was pointing.

"Oh, no," Jerry said. "That's _Mario Party DS_."

"Why in the freakin' world does it have _Mario _and_ Yoshi _and_ Daisy _and _ME_ on it?" Peach shouted.

"Didn't I tell you? Back when you and Toadsworth found me, I said I knew you from a video game," Rho said.

"Wait, didn't we _just_ tell you about that a_ minute_ ago?" Jerry said. Rho shoved his elbow into Jerry. "Ow!" he shouted.

By now, Peach's anger turned into bland despair. "Oh. So you weren't crazy. I can't believe all of my friends are… video game stars," she said, bluntly.

Just then, Yves, Toadsworth, Mario, and Luigi saw them. "Oh, Peach. There you are," Luigi said.

"Mario, Luigi, Toadsworth, I need to tell you. We're all…" Peach began.

"No, Peach. Save it for when you get back home," Rho said, his hand on her shoulder. Peach sighed, but kept it to herself. Mario got a puzzled look on his face, but Luigi and Toadsworth sighed and shrugged it off. _Maybe she has a little memory loss, _he thought.

After leaving the store, another question popped into a group members head.

"Hey! Did we leave Corey and Craig behind?" Yves asked.

"Oh, crap! We should go get them," Mario laughed weakly. "Luigi, come with me. See if we can find 'em." Mario and Luigi reentered the store. Peach, Toadsworth, Yves, Rho, and Jerry walked on.

"Hey, I have to use the bathroom," Jerry said.

"Me, too, eh? I think we shall use the one over in that direction," Toadsworth and Jerry walked to the little inlet.

Mario and Luigi split up and checked the whole store. _Twice_. They still hadn't even gotten a _hint_ of Craig or Corey. "Ah, man, Luigi!" Mario said.

"Where are they?" Luigi asked.

"If I knew, would we be standing here NOT knowing where Craig and Corey were?" Mario said. Luigi rolled his eyes, but he and Mario started looking through the huge store. _Again_.

Toadsworth was washing his hands, when suddenly, it happened. "Eh wot? Why did the water stop?" he asked Jerry, who shrugged. Toadsworth tried twisting the knobs, but nothing came out.

The reason for this came soon.

--

Author's Note: Oooh! Suspense! What do you think the reason is? And where in the frickin' world are Corey and Craig?


	11. Catastrophe

Note: I own some of these characters, not all.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

--

Catastrophic

--

The ground beneath Toadsworth and Jerry began shaking. "OH MY GOD!" Jerry shouted as random things shook crazily. He and anything not attached to the wall was being thrown around. An earthquake.

Toadsworth and Jerry tripped out of the bathroom eventually. Peach, Yves, and Rho were holding on to a building for dear life.

"Peach! Rho!" Jerry shouted, his voice slurred by the raging, cracking ground beneath them. The others looked at Jerry and Toadsworth (which was very hard to do, because they kept being thrown around) with sad, scared-half-to-death faces. Jerry actually thought Peach was crying.

Peach WAS crying. Nothing this scary and destructive had ever happened in the Mushroom Kingdom. _One thing's for sure, _Peach thought, _I will NEVER be scared by ANYTHING Bowser ever does again._ From the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach had read about real world earthquakes on her laptop. She'd never thought she'd even GO to the real world, much less in the time of a quake.

Toadsworth had read earthquake facts with Peach on her laptop. He'd read how many people had died on even seemingly low levels of the Richter scale. He then remembered, each whole number on the 1-10 scale was 32 times as bad as the one before it. Ouch.

Mario and Luigi, together inside the store, were running toward the bathrooms. They were the only places where there weren't 500 pounds of electricity filled items falling all over you. _Oh, dear God, _Luigi thought, _if you can do anything to help us, do it NOW! _Luigi's wishes weren't going to be granted so quickly though. But he liked to think it would be over soon. He liked to think all nine would live.

"Peach! What do we do?" Rho screamed, the last word cut off by a banging, metallic noise. A building about a mile away, a skyscraper, crashed over. Rho didn't even want to think how many had died from that. Tears welled up in his eyes. Hey, who wouldn't need to cry?

A building close to the group fell over. Peach screamed as loud and high pitched as humanly possible, her Trixie Tang scream altered. Only one thought could fill any of the nine's heads: _Oh my god, I'm gonna die!_

Although Mario would have been okay if he hadn't seen one, he had. Somehow, he and Luigi had exited the electronic store mostly unharmed. A second thought protruded into Mario's mind: _I have to save Peach! If she dies, I'm nothing! _Mario looked over, and the sight of Toadsworth, Luigi, Yves, Rho, Jerry, and Peach all alive eased him. But not for long.

Jerry was holding on to consciousness as hard as possible. In his last bit of effort, he saw Craig running of with a huge, squirming… something. Jerry managed to mumble out, "Peach! Craig's carrying some'ne o'er there," pointing to where Craig was tumultuously running.

Mario and Luigi couldn't move. Neither could Toadsworth, or even Peach. Jerry was somehow hit with a splash of water, and he immediately lost his drowsiness. He didn't care where it came from. He didn't even bother to look at the person carrying a pail behind him who'd fallen. Jerry raced, very unevenly, after Craig. Rho and Yves followed after him.

Much later, the earthquake was still raging. It seemed a little less bad than before, but it was still horrible. Yves had been running FOREVER, it seemed. He slowed and looked behind himself. He saw Peach chasing after them. The other three must be stuck.

"We have to prevent Craig from doing something bad!" Rho shouted. He'd noticed Peach, too. And, soon, Craig jumped into a deep hole.

"Oh my god!" Peach shouted. She would've jumped in after him if a bar hadn't blocked anyone from entering the hole. Safely.

Craig took something out of the squirming package. "COREY!" Yves shouted, but Corey seemed weak. Yves noticed many bruises and cuts on Corey. He couldn't believe it. Craig must have beaten him!

"Corey! Get away from Craig!" Rho shouted. Peach was awestruck. Craig was her _friend. _Not her hate! Corey started to weakly move, but the strong earthquake knocked him down. Craig grabbed him, and tied him to a chair he'd materialized.

"Craig! What the h are you doing?" Peach yelled. Rho'd never imagined such a sweet, innocent video game character could even say a word as bad as 'crap'.

"Many people are going to be missing or dead after this disaster," Craig said. "One more won't be noticed." He dug around in the sack, and pulled out a pistol.

"No! You can't kill Corey!" Yves said.

Craig turned his gun toward Yves. "Would it rather be you?" he asked. Yves tripped from the crazy ground, and out of the gun's range. "Okay." Craig pointed the pistol at Corey.

"No, please don't!" Corey yelled, weakly. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because," Craig said. He leaned in on Corey's ear, and whispered, "I've seen the way you look at Peach. I've seen the way she looks at YOU. And, you'd better know, you can't have her. She's f MINE!" he pointed the gun up against Corey's head. "Bye bye, pretty boy," he said, and cocked the weapon.

--

Author's Note: A disastrous earthquake. Missing two people, and then discovery that packs a punch. All in a chapter. What do you think will happen?


	12. Compensation

Note: I own some of these characters, not all. Specifically: Jerry, Corey, Rho, Yves, Toadsky, and Craig.

The Adventure of a Lifetime

--

Compensation

--

Corey was in such panic, he could fill an Olympic swimming pool with it. If panic was a liquid, that is. The earthquake was pretty much aftershocks now, but Corey felt more shaken then ever. This guy was really going to kill him.

Suddenly, the police arrived. "We heard you shouting names," a police officer, Officer Bertson, said. "What's wrong?"

Peach thought this guy was an idiot. _I mean, couldn't it be, oh, maybe, the aftershocks? The freaking earthquake?_ But she was glad that he arrived. She pointed in the hole, and said, "He's gonna kill Corey," Peach said.

"Alright!" the police officer's assistant, Officer Reller, shouted into the hole. "If you shoot, we shoot!"

"Go ahead," Craig said. He had a bullet-proof force field specially made for him in the Mushroom Kingdom. Just as Craig was beginning to apply pressure on the trigger, the policemen fired away. They found a hole in the force field. Right on Craig's head.

Craig fell over, dead from the bullets. Peach looked in. "Oh my god!" she yelled. Craig had been her date to the junior high prom, and now he was dead. She checked to see if Corey was dead.

"I thought that at least one of us nine would die," Luigi stated as Peach checked. He got an angry stare from Mario.

Well, if a person who is looking fine, seeing, breathing, and able to function is dead, then Corey was dead. But since those words mean alive, Corey was alive.

"Corey! You're okay!" Yves yelled. Corey regrouped, and said,

"Yeah, I'm fine." The police officers found a way to get out Corey, and someone would come get Craig later. "Thank you so much for killing that crap wad," Corey said. The policemen smirked, and left.

Now that the earthquake was over, there would need to be some serious clean up to build this city back. The damage would take, maybe, 8 months and billions of dollars to repair. And Corey's sense of safety and the whole group's peace of mind would be back after a little while.

--

Finally, at home again. Corey, Yves, Jerry, and Rho got lucky: their electricity still worked fine. Peach went to Corey's house with him, Mario to Yves', Toadsworth to Rho's, and Luigi to Jerry's. Each of the groups felt connection to the other member.

That night, at 8:30, all eight watched the news. And all eight saw this message:

"Most of Los Angeles is in ruins now, but one small section was mostly unharmed," the anchorwoman said. The four Los Angeles boys stared in shock as the section surrounded their neighborhood.

The anchorwoman continued. "One man, unidentified as of yet, was killed during this horrendous event for holding a teenager at gunpoint," she said. A video of the police killing Craig to protect Corey was shown. This time, all eight stared in pure shock at the screen.

"Only one good thing came out of this," the anchorman next to the anchorwoman said. "The four missing teens were seen during the earthquake." That made all eight flabbergasted AGAIN. The news was all about them today, hmm?

The parents of the four already found out they were okay, and met Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toadsworth. The parents decided to go help the town, so the group got some more alone time.

At the 9:00 news, all four partnerships still had their eyes glued to the screen. A list of teenagers who were injured slid slowly up the screen:

**Jeremy Hinkmeier**

**Lindsey Spearr**

**Marissa Watson**

**Landon Petersburg**

**Damion Termaniumler**

**Hank Fredrik**

Jerry stared in fright. Hank Fredrik was the Hank that the four were best friends with, the Hank who was last seen before they arrived in the Mushroom Kingdom. He HAD to find him.

After the list, a hospital (intact) was listed, then another list of teens for another hospital. Jerry raced off to the hospital, with Luigi following him as fast as he could.

Jerry and Luigi burst through the doors of Fillis Medical Center. They saw Peach, Mario, Corey, and Yves there. Rho and Toadsworth were just across the hall.

"Where's Hank?" Jerry asked.

"Room 245," Corey said, with a weak heart. Jerry ran that way.

"Hey! You can't visit now! It's not the visitor hour!" a doctor said. He chased after Jerry.

_It would suck like crap if Hank of all people dies, _Jerry thought, with anger._ It would so down Corey. Even MORE._

Finally, the number 245 appeared on a door plaque. Jerry burst the door open. Hank was under an operation.

But somehow, Jerry knew Hank would be okay. Or _would_ he?

--

Author's Note: I hate to say this. I mean, I REALLY hate to say what I have to say now. But, this is the last chapter in my ever-hit-getting story. I'm so sorry it has to end, but I have a sequel planned!


End file.
